Yolney s



(No Model.)

V. S. KETCHUM.

PASTENER FOR DOORS, CASES, &0.

110.369.1235. Patented Aug: 30, 1887-;

NY PEYERi Pholo-Ln UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

-VOLNEY S. KETOHUM, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LEWIS A. BROWN, OF SAME PLACE.

FAST-ENER FOR DOORS, CASES, 800.

SPECTPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,185, dated August 30, 1887.

Application filed June 20, 1887. Serial No. 241,863. (No model.)

To alt whom; it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VoLNEY S. KETonUM, of St. Louis, Missouri, have made a new and useful Improvement in Fasteners for Doors,

Gates, Cases, &c., of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This improved fastener is composed of four elements-ahook,alink,and two staples. The book and link are each of a peculiar shape and are adapted to be engaged and disen' gaged, substantially as is hereinafter described, and the staples, which are of the customary form, are, respectively, for attaching the hook and the link to the parts being fastened.

In the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, Figure 1 is a view showing all the parts of the fastener, the hook being in side elevation, the link in section, and the broken lines indicating the movement of the link with relation to the hook. Fig. 2is a View of the hook and link, the parts being in a position at right angles to that of Fig. 1,and the broken lines indicating the position of the link when interlocked with the hook. Fig. 3 s a View in perspective showing the fastener 1n posltion, and Fig. 4 is a view in perspective showing the relative position of the hook and link as when they are being locked and unlocked. a

The same letters of reference denote the same parts.

A represents the hook; B, the link; G, the hook-staple, and D the link-staple, and E and F may respectively represent, say, a door and door-frame.

The hook is of a familiar form, saving that its point a, afterbeing carried around to form the circular opening a and to leave the narrow slit a between the end of the hook-point and the main portion a? of the hook, is made thinner at it than at a at which point the hook is ire-enforced and made thicker, substantially as shown. Such thicker portion,in the direction of the hook-point, extends past the slit a at the opposite side of the opening a, and in the reverse direction the re-cnforcement may be extended indefinitely.

Making the hook thicker at a, as described, serves a double purpose. The hook is strengthened and a shoulder is formed,whose use is explained in connection with the construction and operation of thelink B. This last-named part is essentially a ring, 6, having a slotted extension, b, the slot b of the extension extending into the ring, and being in length and width sufficient to admit the thin portion a of the hook, but not wide enough to admit the thicker portion, a. The extension I) at b is made sufficiently thin to pass through the slit a of the hook, but at I) the extension is thickcued to be wider than the slit a The thickened portion 1) in length is nearly equal to the diameter of thehook-opening a. The fastener is operated as follows: The hook, by means of its staple G, is fastened to the door E,and the link is similarly connected with the door-frame F, and to fasten the door the hook and link are presented to each other, as shownin Fig. 4., andthehook-point is passed through the link-slot until the hook-slit a and the link portion 1) are in the same plane. The link is then turned or is allowed to turn on the hook, and the link portion 1) passes through the hook-slit a, and it eventually drops into the position shown in the full lines, Fig. 3,and indicated by the broken lines, Fig. 2. As soon as the link turns as described the link and hook become locked together, and before they can be separated thelink mustbe turned upon the hook to lift the portion 1) through the slit a and then slipped off the hoolcpoint, as indicated in Figs. 2, 4. Now, owing to the shoulder 0, upon the hook, the link can be turned upon the hook to engage and disengage the link and hook without incurring the difficulty incident to lost motion, for, the shoulderbeingthicker than theslit,thehook andlink cannot be drawn longitudinally apart after they have engaged with each other, and hence any fastener composed of the herein-described hook and link does notclongate after its parts are united, and to disunite the parts it is not necessary to first draw. them toward each other, but only to turn one of them upon the other, as described; but while the link can thus be easily turned upon the hook, it will not of itself, owing to the weight of its slotted extension, assumethe positionin which it can be disengaged; nor can the fastener be readily shaken to cause the link to assume such position. On the other hand, two different motions are required nameIy, the link must be 2. The combination of the hook and the [5 link, said hook havingits point carried around, as described,to form the opening a and slita and made thinner at a than at a fiilld said link having the slotted extension fitted at I) to enter the slit a, but made thicker at b ,SllbStl11* tially as described.

\Vitness my hand.

VOLNEY S. KETOHUM.

Witnesses:

C. D. MOODY, A. M. EVERIST. 

